


A Present for Her

by Altun_Heiral



Series: Patchwork Hearts [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/F, and now for something less depressing lmao, the story of how altun got the owl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29751738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altun_Heiral/pseuds/Altun_Heiral
Summary: Reina works to find a special gift for Altun.
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Patchwork Hearts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838713
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	A Present for Her

**Author's Note:**

> This is the really cheesy story of how Altun got the plush owl she sleeps with. Also Altun cooking some of her favourite foods for Reina like the cutie she is.

“Stop laughing at me, Tataru.” Reina tucked her hair carefully behind her horns before glancing down at her Lalafellin friend. The face Reina was making was somewhere between that of mock annoyance and general disbelief. She let out a sigh and returned her gaze to the wares the merchant had placed before her. Valentione's Day was tomorrow her first Valentione’s with someone and her first with Altun. Reina was still rushing, rather unceremoniously, to find a suitable gift for Altun. While Altun had very much insisted that she didn’t need a gift, Reina equally insisted that she wanted to get her something small. Tataru had insisted in coming along with Reina on her mission, however all she had done was giggle at Reina, who was by all accounts, flustered out of her mind with the task at hand.

Reina heard Tataru giggle again, her tail swaying from side to side with mild agitation. She thanked the merchant, letting them know she would stop back by if she couldn’t find something. Reina turned around, glancing at all the other shops through the streets of Kugane. This was much more difficult than she expected. She knew nothing of of the city of Kugane as she was new to the city, unlike Altun who worked here for a small time before moving to Limsa. Reina glanced down to Tataru rather helplessly, only to receive another giggle in response. Her tail swayed once more with agitation.

“I’m sorry, Reina.” Tataru said finally. “Your frustrations are just somewhat amusing.” Reina let out a groan before burying her face into her hands. Here she thought buying something small for Altun would be easy. Even though Reina knew Altun well by this point, knew her hobbies, her hopes and fears, she’d have thought buying a gift would be easy. Lifting her face from her hands, she tried to scan the shops once more. They were slowly running out of daylight and Reina realized she would have to be getting back to the inn soon as she was supposed to meet Altun so she could make her a traditional Ejinn tribal meal. What was she gonna do? She would have no choice but to shop the late night shops after Altun had laid down to rest for the night. Reina settled for this fact, waving to Tataru, letting her know she was going to be going to meet up with Altun. She wondered if she could somehow question Altun about things she liked once more over dinner until she could come up with a gift idea. Reina groaned quietly. Surely it was about to be a very long night.

When Reina got back to Altun’s room at the inn, she had gone out to the gardens that was at the center of the inn. There was, what Altun described as a sort of garden that was a place of peace and meditation. While Reina didn’t understand it, she had to admit it was always peaceful and she felt calm when she was there. However there was also a place that had pots over an open fire that were excellent for cooking. It was there that Reina found Altun with, what she could only describe as bags of food. She knew she had gone out foraging and fishing to collect what she needed, yet Reina was nevertheless surprised that Altun managed to haul of this back to the inn herself. She knew Altun was strong, however this was still so much for one person to carry at once.

Altun waved happily to Reina upon seeing her. She sat up on her knees, her face lighting up. Reina felt light headed momentarily, why was Altun so positively adorable when doing absolutely nothing at all? She gave a smile to Altun before taking a seat on the ground next to her. The sun was starting to set now, painting the sky in an array of brilliant colours. Altun leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Reina’s for a moment before pulling away. Normally Reina was not the kind of person to be flustered, or to even let a blush slip across her face, however this was not one of those times. She could feel the heat rush into her face, dusting her cheeks in a light red. Altun had clearly taken notice, but instead went to humming and pulling out food from the bags to put on the cutting board she. Reina was content to watch her as she had no idea how to cook any of what Altun was preparing. She however could offer up help to cut up any meat or vegetables.

Altun was humming along to a tune to herself as she pulled out, what Reina could only describe as a large burlap sack, and began pulling out small somewhat spinney looking shells. She had never seen anything like them back in Eorzea, and leaned in to look at them closer. Noticing this, Altun held one up so she could look at it closer. Reina made to grab one to see if it would poke her fingers if she touched it, but stopped as she remembered Altun was about to toss them right over the open fire to cook them. However, her curiosity was met with encouragement, as Altun placed one of the shells in Reina’s hand before putting the others on a small grill she had propped up over an open flame. Reina raised an eyebrow as the shell wasn’t pricking her fingers in anyway but instead felt rather lumpy. With a small smile she passed it back to Altun, who cheerfully added it to the grill with the others.

Reaching into a different bag this time, Altun procured several bottles of spices and one that appeared to be a sort of soy based sauce. Reina watched as Altun reached and grabbed the shells to turn them over to examine them briefly. Satisfied they had cooked enough she placed them each back on the grill. She then grabbed two bottles, one that Reina was unsure what it it was, and the other that seemed to be the soy based one.

“What is that one?” Reina pointed at the bottle with the clear liquid in it that was in Altun’s hand.

“Oh! It’s vinegar!” she replied happily as she popped the lid off the bottle and began pouring the liquid into the shells. She then uncapped the second bottle, pouring the soy into the inside of the shell.

“What are these, Altun? I’ve never seen them before” Reina was examining the shells again as they sizzled on the grill. Altun was rummaging through a bag, where she pulled out a rather large slab of meat.

“They’re Horned Turbans. I usually have to go spearfishing for them, they’re quite tasty. They essentially a snail like creature that live in the shell.” Altun explained as she was putting the meat onto the cutting board. Reina was starting realize, though truthfully she already knew this fact, how self sufficient Altun actually was. While she never really had any doubts since she used to be a nomad from the steppe, still she had never truly seen her in action as for a long time, Altun did most of her cooking alone away from prying eyes. However, since the two of them had grown closer, Altun cooked in front of Reina more openly and shared all the details as she did so.

“And what is that? I feel like I saw that at the market in Reunion.” Reina was looking at the meat that Altun was slicing up very carefully now.

“You probably did. It’s fresh Dzo. I traded for it in Reunion.” Altun took the slides of meat and put them into a pot before adding what appeared to be a package of noodles. Resuming her humming, she reached for a plate and transferred the shells to the plate before handing them to Reina. Blinking, Reina took the plate and watched as Altun passed her what appeared to be a metal utensil with a sharp point at the end of it. “Just take the end and poke it right into the meat in the shell and give a good yank.” She picked up one of the shells from the plate then nodded for Reina to set the plate down, which she did. Altun then took Reina’s hand gently in her’s, showing her how to poke the utensil into the meat inside the shell, then how to pull it out. Reina could feel the heat creeping up into her face again for the second time that night. “Just like that.” Altun leaned forward and kissed the tip of Reina’s nose lightly before returning to preparing the rest of the ingredients that were going in with the Dzo.

It wasn’t long before Altun was pulling the pot off of the fire this time, stirring it a few more times to make sure it was finished. Satisfied with the result, she reached around next to her to pull out two bowls and some spoons to go with them. Reina had been quietly enjoying the Horned Turban, which Altun had been right about, it really was quite tasty. Using a rather large ladle, Altun dished the food into both their bowls, setting Reina’s down in front of her.

“This is Laghman. It’s minced Dzo and thick and chewy noodles in a wholesome broth. This is comfort food where I’m from.” Altun said lightly. She was about to take a bite when she seemed to remember something. She reached into her bag to pull out a small bag with what appeared to be sugar like candy. “This is Konpeito. It’s a crystal like sugar candy. I got some for you to try as well.” Altun smiled warmly at Reina.

The two of them ate in comfortable silence for quite some time. Reina was happily enjoying the food. It always amazed her just how good at cooking Altun truly was, she always put so much care into her meals. They were meals you could tell were made with love. Altun had said she wanted to cook these two specific things for Reina for quite some time, so she was appreciative of all of Altun’s hard work in cooking this meal for them.

“Altun, may I ask you something?” Reina said suddenly, letting her spoon come to rest in the nearly empty bowl of Laghman she was eating. Altun had been opening the bag of Konpeito, but turned to glance at Reina with high concentration.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, her voicing cracking slightly. Feeling somewhat bad, Reina shook her head quickly and smiled.

“Nothing at all. I just wondered if you had something in particular that you enjoyed a lot. Like a food dish, an animal, maybe a colour.” Reina was reaching for straws at this point, trying not to make it sound obvious that she was attempting to gauge what Altun may be interested in for a Valentione’s Day gift. She watched as Altun seemed to stop to think about the question thoroughly before answering.

“I like purple quite a bit.” Altun smiled, popping one of the small sugary sweets into her mouth. “Oh! I love owls! When I first came to Kugane, there was a small shop on one of the back streets that sold tiny little plush animals. They had an owl one once, but I didn’t have much money back then.” That was it. How Reina was gonna find this shop though she had no clue. She supposed that she could simply ask around until she found someone that knew of the place Altun was talking about.

“That is remarkably like you, and something you would like.” Reina said with a smile. She heard Altun laugh, and scooted closer to her, reaching into the bag of Konpeito to grab one to try. It was a small purple one. How fitting she thought. She felt Altun rest her head on her shoulder. When Altun went off to her room to turn in for the night, Reina would make the attempt to find that shop, and perhaps that owl that Altun saw all those years ago. That could wait for a while though. For now it was good to just be here the two of them.

Reina walked Altun back to her room after helping her clean everything up from the meal they had enjoyed together. Altun acted as though she was reluctant to leave, which Reina couldn’t help but find endearing, Glancing around to make sure no one was near them to see, Reina leaned down and placed a small kiss to Altun’s cheek. The gesture earned her a hum of approval in return. Altun gave a small wave to Reina before retreating to the confines of her room. Reina made sure that Altun was settled in before returning to the lobby of the inn. Tataru was there to meet her seeing as Reina had sent word ahead for Tataru to meet her.

“So, you finally thought of something.” there was a tone of satisfaction in Tartaru’s voice, and Reina knew it was said in pure jest, but her tail was swaying in an agitated fashion again.

“I did in fact. I was actually hoping you could help me find a particular shop.” Reina explained.

“A specific shop?” Reina nodded slightly. “What kind of shop is it exactly?”

“Altun said when she first came to Kugane when she was young, there was a back street shop that sort small plush animals. There was an owl one there she wanted, but lacked the funds to spoil herself with something of that nature back then.” Tataru thought for a moment, trying to remember all the shops she’d seen while strolling through Kugane.

“I think there’s one just down the ways from the inn here. I vaguely remember seeing something like what you’re describing there.” Reina sighed in relief.

“Thank you so much, Tataru!” Reina knelt down to give her fellow Scion a hug before bolting off down the stairs that led to the portion of the markets near the inn.

Reina managed to find the stall quiet easily as it actually wasn’t on a back stretch of street at all, but instead on the main one. They truly had every animal imaginable. Her eyes scanned over the assortment of plush animals before her until it came across a small purple owl. What kind of luck that the owl also be purple as well. She signaled to the merchant that she wished to get the small owl. It was a few thousand gil, but it was more than worth it since Reina knew it was something that Altun has wanted for a good portion of her life. Once she had the owl in hand, the next step was getting something to wrap it up in. She found herself looking at a stall that had various colours of cloths and ribbons. In the end, Reina settled for a black and gold cloth, decorated with stars and moons, and a simple silver ribbon to tie it up with. When she returned to her own room at the in she made sure to gently packed the owl into the cloth and tied the top with the ribbon. It was quickly approaching the early hours of the morning, thus Reina crawled into bed to pass out and try to collect some sleep before she had to meet Altun later in the morning.

Reina awoke, feeling rather sleepy, but also feeling confident that Altun would like the gift. This was their first Valentione’s together, and Reina was feeling slightly nervous as she had never spent it with another person before. She didn’t know what to wear. Armour was not an appropriate outfit. Reina eventually settled on something sleek in black, a simple shirt and pants combo. Pushing her nerves down, she quickly grabbed Altun’s gift and exited her own inn room and made for Altun’s. The two of them planned to stay in for the morning then go out to Yanxia later in the day.

When she arrived at Altun’s room, she knocked on the door quickly twice, then waited for Altun to open the door. She had the gift clutched to her chest tightly. The door slide open and Reina’s mouth well open slightly, though she closed it quickly. Altun had put on a sleek black shirt and a black and gold skirt to match. She seemed to have also fashioned out a pair of heels to wear with it, though they sat near the bed. Altun had braided her hair today in favour of her ponytail, though her signature ribbon still resided there at the bottom of the braid. Reina was trying to find words to say. She was used to seeing Altun either in armour of some sort or what she normally wore when swinging around her rapier when she was practicing.

“That really suits you well, I’ve never seen your hair braided before.” Reina managed to say, earning her a small laugh from Altun, who stepped aside to let Reina in the room, sliding the door shut behind her. Altun walked over to the bed and sat down on it, pulling her legs up underneath her on the bed.

“Thank you! You look wonderful too. I wasn’t sure what to wear honestly.” Altun laughed weakly.

“Glad I wasn’t the only one worried about that factor.” Reina said with a sigh of relief. “Here though. Before we go about anything else.” Reina passed the small lightly wrapped owl over to Altun. “It took me some time to figure out what to get, but I think you’ll like it.”

“The cloth you chose to wrap this in is wonderful. So pretty with the stars and moons.” Altun smiled as she untied the ribbon and pulled the cloth back. Her eyes got wide as she realized what she was looking at. “It’s - the owl. The one I saw when I came to Kugane.” She picked it up in her hands. The plush was soft under her fingertips. A huge grin came across her face as she pulled the owl to her chest, clutching it tightly. Reina couldn’t help but laugh. Altun sat up on her knees and leaned in, giving Reina a soft kiss on her lips. She made to pull away, but Reina wasn’t letting her pull back that easily. With a hand gently on the back of her neck she held her there for a few more moments.

When Reina finally removed her hand from Altun’s neck, allowing her to lean back to her sitting position, she noticed Altun’s face was slightly flushed, but also that she had a rather gentle smile on her face. She was still clutching the owl tightly in her arms. Even though it took some time, it would seem that Reina had found the perfect Valentione’s gift for Altun.

“I have something for you too.” Altun said reaching behind her and pulling out a small box. “I made it myself over the last few weeks.” Reina took the box, it was just slightly bigger than the palm of her hand, black and tied with a gold ribbon. Reina carefully removed the ribbon and removed the lid from the the box. Inside was a small necklace. It was a simple chain but had a very wonderfully coloured red stone at the end of it. Reina smiled as she carefully took the necklace from the box and made to put it on. “It’s a special stone. It represents courage and strength. Qualities that I see in you, Reina.”

“You truly are something special aren’t you?” Reina said. “Thank you, Altun. Happy Valentione’s.” Reina wrapped her arms around Altun, pulling her close to her. Altun let out a happy hum and leaned into Reina’s embrace.

“Happy Valentione’s to you too, Reina.”


End file.
